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Canada earns shot at U.S. for Pan Am women’s basketball gold

They always said winning was okay but not a must, that the Pan Am Games were about improvement and fine-tuning and putting things in place for a more significant tournament next month.

Forget that now.

Canada’s women’s basketball team will be looking to make Pan Am history on Monday night, seeking the first gold medal ever for the program with Olympic qualifying not far away.

By routing Brazil 91-63 in Sunday’s semifinal, Canada earned a spot in Monday’s final against the United States, another significant step in the ascent of a growing world power.

For veteran members of the team, it’s been a long time coming.

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“I’ve been dreaming about getting a gold medal for Canada since I stepped on the team in 2007 and we’re one step away,” said Lizanne Murphy. “I know it’s not the Olympics, but we’re in Canada, we’ve got all the fans with us, friends and family, so it feels just as important as an Olympics.”

Canada and the U.S., which edged Cuba 65-64 in the first semifinal, are both 4-0 here. Canada’s best finish at a Pan Ams was a silver in 1999 in Winnipeg, while the Americans have won gold seven of the 14 times its been awarded.

It’s special.

“Absolutely,” said Canadian coach Lisa Thomaidis. “There’s so much history there, and with the majority of our players playing in the NCAA there is so much familiarity there, and I’m sure rivalry. It will be great to play against them.”

The ties between the teams add an extra layer of intrigue. Canada’s Kia Nurse is a college teammate of American stars Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson, Canada’s Natalie Achonwa is a Notre Dame grad and Taya Reimer of the U.S. plays with the Irish.

Canada and the U.S. squared off in exhibition action just before the Pan Am tournament began to ratchet up the level of familiarity.

“We played them in an exhibition game and they beat us, and it was kind of an eye-opener for us,” said Murphy.

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But it is Canada that’s opening some eyes around the tournament, especially those of fans who’ve never seen the team play or paid much attention to it.

There was a time not too long ago when they had a hard time competing with the Brazils and Cubas of the world. Those days are gone.

Canada’s smothering defence took Brazil completely out of Sunday’s semi in the first 15 minutes, and the team’s transition offence ran the South Americans out of the gym.

“It’s not going to change, our identity isn’t going to change . . . defence is our bread and butter, we know it,” said Murphy. “The other team might be bigger than us, they might be quicker, they might have something more than us, but they don’t have our defence and they don’t have our heart.

“That goes to our identity. We’re an unselfish team. We’re unselfish players, That’s how you can be a good defensive team. It’s just who we are, man. It’s like our country. Canadians are unselfish.”

And now a program to be dealt with.

“I think a lot of teams back in the day just rolled over Canada like we were just another team,” said Nurse. “Now we get to play great teams in our (European) exhibition series and people are kind of afraid of us. So it’s good to be the hunted.”

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